What on earth happens next? Foreseeing the impact of Brexit on international arbitration, on London as a seat … and more.

Tuesday 12 February

Our distinguished panel bravely attempts to assess the likely impact of Brexit (if and when it ever happens) and whether it is a plus or a minus for London arbitration; what are the broader potential impacts and choices available for dispute resolution, especially from an institutional perspective and considering other arbitral seats; whether parties may opt for arbitration in London rather than litigation before the High Court and where that leaves the development of English commercial law … and should we care?

Registration - 5.45pm
Seminar - 6.15pm
Reception - 7.30pm

For any assistance please email marketing@quadrantchambers.com

Chris Smith

Chris has a broad practice encompassing all areas of commercial law, with a particular focus on dry shipping, commodities, energy, and insurance disputes. Chris appears regularly in both domestic and international arbitrations, and has undertaken cases before Uncitral, ICC, LCIA and HKIAC tribunals in London, Zurich and Hong Kong. Chris has also appeared extensively in the Commercial Court, representing clients at all stages of proceedings, from urgent pre-action interlocutory applications all the way through to trial.

Chris was nominated for Junior Shipping Barrister of the Year in the Chambers UK Bar Awards in 2015. He is recommended as a 'Leading Junior' in the field of Shipping law in both Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500, as well as a 'Leading Junior' for Energy in The Legal 500. Chris has also been ranked in Energy and Shipping for The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2018 and 2019. Comments across ranking have included: "He is outstanding in his legal analysis and presentation of cases before tribunals."; “a star of the future and is a fierce advocate”; “he is thoroughly commercial and has sound judgment as to what points to fight”;"...a particularly tenacious and effective advocate; exactly the man you want in tight situations...".

Andrew Cannon

He has extensive experience of advising states, state-owned entities and major companies on all aspects of public international law. He has acted in ad hoc and institutional arbitrations across multiple jurisdictions and under a range of governing laws. He has also acted in high profile litigation cases before a range of international and domestic judicial bodies, including the European Court of Justice and General Court, the UK Supreme Court, House of Lords and Court of Appeal.

Andrew previously worked as a legal adviser to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and represented the UK at the UN in New York and the EU in Brussels, as well as in other international institutions. He has extensive experience of negotiating and advising on bilateral and multilateral treaties and other international instruments.

Andrew's experience includes:

acting for a consortium of leading multinational energy companies in UNCITRAL arbitration and expert determination proceedings against a Central Asian Republic. The case concerned budget and schedule disputes worth US$ 9 billion in a high-profile and politically significant dispute concerning one of the world's largest oil and gas projects

acting for a multinational energy company in a US$150 million ICC arbitration concerning the impact of compulsory price renegotiation through governmental regulation in the Indonesian coal industry, giving rise to complex issues of force majeure, contractual and common law termination rights, and the quantification of damages using the loss methodology

acting for a multinational technology company in an LCIA arbitration against a national government involving disputes concerning highly confidential information

acting for a subsidiary of a major UK plc in UK High Court proceedings relating to the application of EU sanctions to an oil and gas field in the North Sea

Andrew previously worked as a senior assistant legal adviser to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office including on postings to the UK Mission to the UN in New York and the UK Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels. In 1999 he worked as a judicial assistant to the Rt Hon Lord Justice Evans in the English Court of Appeal. Andrew speaks English and French fluently.

Andrew presents regularly at seminars on international arbitration and public international law. He is a member of the International Law Association and the LCIA European Users' Council.

Dr Jacomijn van Haersolte-van Hof

On 1 July 2014, Jackie van Haersolte-van Hof became Director General of the LCIA. Previously, she practised as a counsel and arbitrator in The Hague, at her GAR 100 boutique HaersolteHof. She set up HaersolteHof in 2008 after three years as counsel in the international arbitration group at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Amsterdam.

She was previously with Amsterdam firm De Brauw Blackstone Westbroke from 2000 to 2004, and before that Loeff Claeys Verbeke in Rotterdam, which she joined on her qualification in 1992.

She has sat as arbitrator in cases under the ICC, LCIA and UNCITRAL rules, as well as those of the Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI). She has also arbitrated cases at the Royal Dutch Grain and Feed Trade Association and the Institute of Transport and Maritime Arbitration, both based in the Netherlands. She was on the ICSID roster of arbitrators and sat on an ad hoc committee.

She was also involved in setting up the arbitral process for the Claims Resolution Tribunal in Zurich, which analysed claims from Holocaust survivors over dormant accounts in Swiss banks.

She is a lecturer in international arbitration at VU University Amsterdam and a member of GAR’s editorial board. Her 1992 PhD thesis on the application of the UNCITRAL rules by Iran-US Claims Tribunal was one of the first books to be published on the subject.

Prof. Loukas Mistelis

Professor Loukas Mistelis is an acknowledged authority on international dispute resolution and investment treaty law. In 2006 he was listed as one of the “leading lights in international arbitration”, 45 under 45, amongst the top 15 highlighted members of the list, is listed on the Who’s Who Commercial Arbitration since 2007 and also a member of the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators as well as the recipient of the GAR Award for best arbitration lecture of 2013. He is also listed as one of the Thought Leaders in International Arbitration.

Loukas Mistelis is the Clive M Schmitthoff Professor of Transnational Commercial Law and Arbitration and the Director of the School of International Arbitration at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London. He joined Queen Mary University of London in 1998 and became a professor in 2005. He was also Visiting Professor, NYU in London (2006-2012), a Visiting Professor at Pepperdine University London programme (2008-2011); he is Distinguished Visiting Professor, National University of Singapore (2013); he was Visiting Scholar at Columbia University Law School (spring semester 2007), Visiting Fellow at NYU Law School (2012), Visiting Professor at Keio University, Tokyo (2008), LUISS, Rome (2009) and Catholic University of Portugal, Lisbon (2007, 2009).
He is co-ordinating the LLM specialisation in Comparative and International Dispute Resolution. He teaches at the LLM programmes in London and Paris and is the co-ordinator of the courses in International Arbitration Law and Practice II, Investment Treaty Arbitration and Investment Arbitration: Substantive Protection and also teaches on the International Commercial Law and International Energy Transactions courses. In Paris Loukas Mistelis teaches International Investment Dispute Settlement, Regulation and Infrastructure of International Arbitration and Applicable Law and Procedures in International Arbitration. Loukas Mistelis has also developed directs our Diploma in International Arbitration by Distance Learning, the Diploma in International Mediation (ADR) by Distance Learning and the Diploma in International Arbitration, which is offered by CCLS with accreditation from the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Liisa Lahti

Liisa Lahti has a broad commercial practice. Her particular areas of specialism include banking, finance, civil fraud and international trade. She undertakes drafting and advisory work in all areas of her practice and regularly appears in court and in arbitration, both as sole counsel and as a junior.

Liisa is ranked as an 'Up and Coming' Junior in Commercial Dispute Resolution (Chambers UK 2019) and as a leading junior in Banking & Finance (Legal 500 2019).

Liisa has experience of all kinds of arbitration disputes including under ICC, LCIA and LMAA rules, under trade associations such as GAFTA and FOSFA and ad hoc arbitrations. She also regularly advises on the enforcement of arbitration awards under the New York Convention and otherwise.

Examples include:

An ongoing ICC arbitration relating to the share sale of an energy company (sole counsel).